Memory

Memory

1. Multi-store explanation

   • The idea that information passes through a series of memory stores.
     • 3 processes of memory
       • encoding: changing information so it can be stored.
         • storage: holding information in the system
           • retrieval:recovering information from storage
     • Sensory Store
       • holds info for a very short period of times.
       • less than 1 sec
     • Long-term store
       • holds a vast amount of info for a very long time.
       • unlimited
     • STUDYS
       • Peterson and Peterson (1959)
       • Murdock (1962)
   • Short-term store
     • holds seven chunks of information for a limited time.
     • less than 1 min

2. altering our recollection of things so that they make more sense to us

   • Reconstruction Memory
     • STUDYS
       • Barlett (1932)
       • Wynn and Logie (1998)
       • Evaluation.
         • shows the influences behind people knowledge, could be why different cultures can't agree
       • Practical Implications
         • shows us why people recalling the same event may have completely different stories.i.e eyewitnesses

3. Levels of processing

   • the depth at which information is thought about when trying to learn it.
     • STUDYS
       • Craik and Lockhart (1972)
       • Evaluation
         • its been criticised as doesn't explain the deeper levels of memory
       • Practical implications
         • helps us improve our study skills
   • structural processing
     • thinking about the physical appearance of words to be learnt
   • Phonetic processing
     • thinking about the sounds of words to be learnt
   • Sesmantic processing
     • thinking about the meaning of words to be learnt

4. Interference

   • things that we have learnt that make it difficult to recall other information we've learnt
     • Retroactive interference
       • when information we have recently learnt hiders our ability to recall info we've learnt before
     • Proactive interference
       • when info we've learnt previously hinders our ability to recall new info
     • STUDYS
       • Underwood and Postman (1960)

5. Context

   • the general setting or environment in which events happen
     • STUDYS
       • Godden and Baddeley (1975)
       • Practical implications
         • it would be more effective to study in the same place you do your exam

6. Brain damage and forgetting

   • Anterograde amnesia: being unable to learn new information after suffering brain damage
   • Retrograde amnesia: loss of memory for events that happened before brain damage
   • Hippocampus: a brain structure that is crucial for memory
   • STUDYS
     • Miller (1968)
     • Russel and Nathan (1946)

7. Factors affecting eyewitness accounts

   • Leading questions
     • a question that hints that a particular type of answer is required
       • STUDYS
         • Loftus and Palmer (1974)
   • Unfamiliar Faces
     • STUDYS
       • Bruce and Young (1998)
       • Evaluations
         • you are not usually expecting the event to happen or you might feel in danger therefore effecting your recall
   • Context
     • STUDYS
       • Geiselman et al. (1985)
     • Cognitive interview: a method of questioning witnesses that involves recreating the context of an event
   • Stereotypes
     • STUDYS
       • Cohen (1981)
     • an oversimplified generalised set of ideas that we have for others
   • Reliability: the extent to which it can be regarded as accurate ( a testimony)